The Things We Do for Love

Benjamin M. Schutz

Description

In DC and the Caribbean, Haggerty protects a rock icon’s life

Jane Doe and the Pleasure Principal are halfway through their Memorial Day concert when the crowd gets violent. A fan charges Jane, but is caught by a security guard, who tosses him off the stage, shattering both his legs. A few weeks later, the fan is suing the band for damages, and a series of death threats have Jane fearing for her life. She needs a bodyguard who’s willing to crack skulls to keep her safe. She needs Leo Haggerty.
 
A bruising DC private investigator, Haggerty agrees to guard Jane for the forty-eight hours leading up to the deposition. As her feuding band mates threaten to tear the group apart, danger comes at Jane from all sides—starting in Washington and following them all the way to the Caribbean.
 
The Things We Do for Love is the 4th book in the Leo Haggerty Mysteries, but you may enjoy reading the series in any order.
 

Sujets

• Love
• Love (disambiguation)
• Hardboiled
• Rock music
• Psychology
• Stalker
• Crime
• Détective
• Celebrity

Informations

• Publié par: Open Road Media
• Date de parution: 23 février 2016
• Nombre de lectures: 10
• EAN13: 9781480493254
• Langue: English

Extrait

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The Things We Do For Love
A Leo Haggerty Mystery
Benjamin M. Schutz

MYSTERIOUSPRESS.COM
For my brothers
Mark and Adam
All for one and one for all .
The nature of evil may be epitomized, therefore, in two simple but horrible and holy propositions: Things Fade and Alternatives Exclude.
JOHN GARDNER
Grendel
CHAPTER 1
A hedgehog, I thought. He looks like a hedgehog with that haircut. And not so much tanned as microwaved on all sides.
Leo, I d like you to meet Nick Ballantine, Walter O Neil said as he stood up behind his desk and gestured to the man seated on his right.
I walked across the room and stuck out my hand. Nick Ballantine had jumped up out of his chair and was pumping my hand with both of his.
How do you do, Mr. Ballantine.
Nicky, call me Nicky, everybody does, he said smiling around well-capped teeth.
Okay, I said dubiously and gave Nicky the once-over. Running shoes, gray warm-up pants, pastel pink shirt open at the neck and a gold chain thick enough for the Queen Mary s anchor. Turning back to Walt, I asked What s this job you might have for me?
Walt motioned for me to sit. Actually, it s Mr. Ballantine who might have some work for you.
I sat and turned toward good ol Nicky. On cue he fired up his smile. Heard good things about you, Leo. Very good indeed. You might be just the guy we re looking for.
And what exactly are you looking for, Mr. Ballantine?
A bodyguard.
For yourself?
Nah, he said shaking his head. You ever heard of Jane Doe and the Pleasure Principle?
No. I can t say that I have. Nicky took the news well.
Well, I m their manager. We ve had some threats against the group s lead singer, Jane Doe.
What kind of threats?
Letters sent to the fan club. Really sick shit.
Anything else? Phone calls? Any actual attempts made?
No. Just the letters.
Are they recent or have they been coming in for a while?
Just recently. The last couple of weeks, I guess.
Any idea who might be sending them? Does she have any enemies?
I have no idea who s doing this. Does she have enemies? Sure. Hell, this is a cutthroat business. Everybody s always climbing over each other to get to the top and kicking each other in the face to stay there. But murder? Hey, no way. See them fall on their face, though, sure.
Nick stopped for a second to take a sip of his drink, then started up again.
So, can you do the job? We need to know, you know, like right away. His left foot tapped away at an invisible bass drum.
Whoa. I need to know a few things first. What s the rush?
Walt answered. She s flying in the day after tomorrow for a deposition on Thursday morning.
A deposition on what?
A lawsuit has been filed against the entire group and Mr. Ballantine.
Alleging what?
That they did negligently entrust stage security at this year s Memorial Day concert to one Jimmy Joe Scruggs. Walt tented his fingers as he went on reciting the allegations verbatim from memory. Mr. Scruggs did violently and without provocation throw one Mark Trumbull off the stage resulting in two broken legs and permanent loss of functioning. The performers and their management should have known of Mr. Scruggs prior record of violence and never entrusted him with a position where he might endanger the public. Walt smiled. There s no mention that one Mark Trumbull was apprehended in the act of attempting to kiss and fondle the lead singer of the group.
Any possibility that it s this guy or his friends that are sending the letters? Trying to rattle the opposition?
That s possible, Leo. They re playing hardball on this case all the way down the line.
What are they asking for?
A million even. We ve offered fifty thousand to settle.
This shit couldn t have happened at a worse time, Nicky piped up. Right now we re this close. He held up his thumb and forefinger to show me just how close. I d left my calipers in my other jacket so I couldn t fully appreciate where we stood. this close to making it this time. We ve got a major label interested but they won t close the deal until this shit is behind us. They want us to be able to go right into the studio with our heads on straight and turn out some product. That s where you come in, Leo. The label understands that we need some security for Jane while she s here in town but they ve made it clear it has to be professional and low profile, very low profile.
When you say low profile, what do you have in mind?
Well, frankly, we were wondering if you could do the job by yourself. I mean this has to be low profile, like invisible city. We re looking for a guy who can use his head. It s dumb muscle that got us into this shit in the first place. And like I said, you come highly recommended.
By whom, might I ask?
John Franklin of Franklin Security Systems. He said you were one of the best men he d ever had.
That s very kind of him to say that. Rocky Franklin had been my first mentor. I d spent five years learning the bodyguard trade from him. He now ran a national firm specializing in corporate security. Why not take this to them? I m sure they can handle it.
We did, Walt said apologetically. All their teams are in the field. Rocky recommended that we see if you wanted to run the operation.
Okay. I understand your problems but as a professional I m telling you it can t be done by one man. If I m given some control over where she stays and her itinerary, I can do it with one other guy. He ll be the driver and my back-up.
Okay, just the two of you. And you ll vouch for this other guy? Nick asked.
Absolutely, if I can get the guy I want. We ve worked together a number of times.
Fine. What else do you need to know?
Where and when is she coming in?
Dulles, Wednesday. She s catching the 8 a.m. flight out of LAX arriving here about 4 p.m.
Whose name is she traveling under?
Mine. I bought the tickets, or rather Ballantine Talent Management bought them.
Good. Is she traveling alone?
Yes. The band is already out here. Their depositions are tomorrow.
Fine. Tell her to travel light. Only hand-carried luggage. I want to be in and out of the airport quickly.
Okay. Anything else?
Where is she supposed to stay?
At the Willard.
No good. It s too large. Let me see if I can get her into the Duncaster. It s a lot smaller and the penthouse is easy to secure. I ve used it before.
Is it nice? he asked, just avoiding a whine.
It ll do. No place is nice enough to die in. I mulled over my options for a moment and then said, Okay. If I can get the driver I want and the Duncaster penthouse, I ll do the job. Otherwise it s no go, it s too risky.
When will you know?
I ll call you tonight. If it s a go I ll need to look at those letters and see a detailed itinerary. You might want to start rounding that stuff up for me.
Okay. Fine. Sure. No problem.
I have one other question. Does this Jane Doe use drugs?
Nick looked at Walt briefly, then back at me. Why do you need to know that?
Because it s hard enough to do this job right with a terrified and docile client. Rock n rollers are notoriously bad clients because half the time they re tooted out of their skulls and can t follow any orders. Bodyguarding rock n rollers is like taking a bunch of chimpanzees to church. So what s her drug-use like?
She s really not too bad that way. At least not nowadays. She s a juicer. Binges. But she s been straight the whole time we were out in L. A. shooting the video.
Fine. Last item is my fee. Once I take the job it s fifty bucks an hour plus expenses for the groundwork, setting up the hotel and so on. You ll get an itemized bill for that. Once she s on site and I m directly responsible for her my fee is five thousand dollars a day plus expenses.
Jesus Christ. Nick s eyebrows tried to take flight.
For that you get two professionals round the clock and a custom-rigged car. If you think that s too much, remember that I may wind up stepping in front of an absolute stranger named Jane Doe and taking a slug meant for her. So what is it?
Nick rubbed his chin, then said Okay, okay. She s worth it. I ll get the label to come through with the money.
Fine. I have a couple of people to see. If I can line up what I need it s a go. Where can I reach you tonight?
Uh, I m at the Willard. Room 914.
Fine. I ll call you this evening. Good day. I bit off his name just before I said it. Walt, I ll be in touch. With that I stood up and left. My next stop was the office of Dave Isaacs, wheelman extraordinaire.
CHAPTER 2
Driving over to Davey s, I called the Duncaster Hotel and asked for Martin Duncaster, the manager.
The penthouse and the room below it were available. I told Duncaster to book them in the name of S. T. Miller. I would also need the security garage.
Dave Isaacs lived in Prince Georges County, the redneck suburb of Washington, D.C. Liberal money annexed Montgomery County, conservative money took Fairfax. Prince Georges was where the working-class whites had fled when they abandoned the District of Columbia.
I pulled up in front of Dave s house. His wife Donna was standing on the lawn watching one of the twins ride up and down